Differential gene expression in maize seeds in interactions with Fusarium verticillioides, Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium sp.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Maize seed quality can be compromised by pathogenic fungi, making it essential to understand seed-pathogen interactions for the development of faster and more precise detection techniques. This study aimed to evaluate the physiological and sanitary quality of maize seeds and to determine whether suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) can identify differentially expressed genes in interactions with F. verticillioides, A. flavus, and Penicillium sp., with validation by qRT-PCR. Seeds of the single-cross hybrid BM 810 were inoculated for 48 and 96 hours using the water restriction method and subjected to germination, first germination count, fungal incidence, tetrazolium, and germination speed index (GSI) tests. Based on the physiological and sanitary results, the following treatments were selected for the construction of six subtractive libraries: control (T), 96 h without fungus (96), 96 h with F. verticillioides (96F), Penicillium sp. (96P), and A. flavus (96A). Seed physiological and sanitary quality was negatively affected by fungal infection. The SSH technique proved efficient in detecting differentially expressed genes, with anthranilate synthase, cysteine proteinase, catalase B, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and superoxide dismutase 4 standing out as potential markers associated with fungal infection in maize seeds.